The Presidency has urged Nigeria’s organised private sector to develop a sustainable funding and implementation plan for the proposed state police system, stressing that its success will depend on states’ ability to pay salaries, provide training and meet operational costs.
The call came as support for the proposed constitutional amendment continued to grow, with reports on Wednesday indicating that the number of state Houses of Assembly that had endorsed the reform had risen to 28.
The Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, urged the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), chambers of commerce and business associations to propose practical financing arrangements, institutional management structures and accountable partnerships for the proposed system.
Speaking at a plenary session on Security, Stability and Economic Resilience at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, Gbajabiamila said insecurity was imposing significant costs on businesses through disrupted supply chains, delayed investments and lost commercial opportunities.
He argued that improved security was essential to protecting investments, creating jobs and driving economic growth, urging business leaders to engage state governments and lawmakers as the reform process progressed.
Gbajabiamila said the private sector’s experience in financial management, risk assessment and institutional governance could help states develop sustainable policing systems.
“I therefore ask the Nigerian Economic Summit Group to carry this engagement beyond our meeting. Bring forward a considered private sector contribution on financing and implementing state police, with practical proposals for accountable partnerships,” he said.
The presidential aide, however, warned that private sector participation must not compromise police independence or allow financial contributions to influence investigations.
“Public funding must remain dependable, and a donation must never purchase influence over an investigation or preferential treatment,” he said.
Gbajabiamila also stressed that states seeking to establish their own police services must demonstrate the financial capacity to sustain them beyond the initial purchase of vehicles, uniforms and other equipment.
He said inadequate funding could expose police institutions to private interests and unlawful demands, adding that federal policing would remain available in states that were not financially or institutionally ready to establish their own services.
The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to establish state police services while retaining the Nigeria Police Force at the federal level.
Under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional amendment requires approval by at least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, representing 24 legislatures.
The required threshold had been met before the latest reported endorsements. Reports published on Wednesday indicated that the number of approving assemblies had risen to 28, following further endorsements, including those by Lagos, Sokoto and Jigawa states.
The National Assembly had transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, to state legislatures for consideration and concurrence after its passage by both chambers.
In Lagos, lawmakers reconvened after cutting short their recess to consider the proposed amendment and voted unanimously in favour.
The Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, described the development as a significant milestone in a debate that had continued across several legislative sessions.
He said state police had remained a recurring issue from the fifth to the 10th National Assembly as successive governments sought ways to strengthen security and protect lives and property.
However, Obasa argued that the proposed amendment did not grant federating units sufficient operational autonomy. He called for clearer constitutional definitions of the responsibilities of federal and state police authorities to prevent an imbalance in the proposed policing structure.
The Lagos Speaker also advocated a dedicated parliamentary police force to protect legislative institutions from executive interference, citing previous incidents in which state assembly complexes were allegedly locked or demolished at the direction of governors.
According to him, a parliamentary police force would strengthen state legislatures, protect their independence and help safeguard democratic governance.
Obasa commended President Bola Tinubu, the leadership of the National Assembly and state legislatures for advancing the constitutional review process, expressing confidence that outstanding concerns would be addressed as the process progressed.
The National Assembly had given state legislatures 30 days to communicate their positions on the proposed amendment, either supporting or opposing it.
Providing an update on the reform, Gbajabiamila disclosed that the Presidential Working Group had submitted the draft National Policing Bill and 29 consequential amendment bills to the Federal Ministry of Justice on 19 October for review.
He said the proposals would be presented to President Tinubu for approval after the review and the working group’s final consideration, ahead of their transmission to the National Assembly.
The proposed framework is intended to allow willing and financially capable states to assume greater responsibility for local security while retaining a strong federal police institution to tackle interstate crime and specialised national security threats.
Gbajabiamila said decentralised policing could improve local intelligence gathering and reduce response times, addressing what he described as an imbalance in which states were expected to respond to insecurity without having corresponding authority to organise their own police services.
He acknowledged concerns that state police could be used against political opponents or vulnerable communities but assured Nigerians that the proposed legislation would provide enforceable safeguards, national professional standards and independent oversight.
“The concern that police powers could be used against political opponents or vulnerable communities is serious. Our answer is to place enforceable limits on those powers and provide remedies when they are abused,” he said.
The Presidency maintained that the reform should combine greater state responsibility for public safety with transparent funding, accountable management and safeguards against political interference.
